The Puppy
by x.Ales.x
Summary: When Zack tries to escape an angered Sephiroth, he ends up in a place almost as horrible- Hojo's lab. An unknown serum seeps into his system and causes some. . .unwanted effects. Who will get stuck with the fool when he can't even take care of himself?
1. Chapter 1

The yelling could be heard throughout the entire Shin-Ra building. It had become such a common occurrence though that nobody even glanced up at the noise, even as it reverberated off the walls in every room. "Sephiroth, I didn't mean to!" the voice shrieked.

It wasn't the commotion in the hall that woke him up. The frantic pounding on his door at seven in the morning had Angeal rolling out of his warm, inviting bed. "Angeal!" the person banging on the door screamed. "Save me!"

"This better be good," Angeal muttered as he made his way to the door. When he opened the door, he hadn't expected to be met by the sight of Zack clinging to the door frame for dear life as a black-haired Sephiroth tried to pry him free. Slowly, Zack lost his grip, and Angeal could only watch as Sephiroth ripped the boy from the frame and wrapped his slender fingers around his neck. Zack began clawing at Sephiroth's hands, trying to free himself. Angeal raised a hand to his forehead as he tried to decipher what Zack had done this time.

"Sephiroth," he stated as he fixed the tall male with a stern gaze. "Let go of the puppy." When Sephiroth opened his mouth to reply, Angeal cut him off. "Let him go, and we'll talk this out." With a fiery glare, Sephiroth let go of the still struggling teen whose face was now changing colors due to the lack of oxygen. Hitting the floor, which surprisingly, nobody even seemed to notice he'd ever left, Zack gulped for air. "Now. What—" Before Angeal could even finish his sentence, Zack had already pulled himself off the ground and bolted down the hall towards the elevators. Sephiroth's already deep glare managed to deepen further as he watched the boy's retreating back.

Turning his glare to Angeal, he said, "I blame you." Angeal didn't know how to react to that blunt statement. He could already feel the traces of a headache forming.

"Seph, just go take a shower. The dye will wash out," Angeal said as he massaged his temples.

"How do you know that?" Sephiroth questioned, his gaze transforming into one of suspicion.

"Zack's not _that_ stupid." At least, Angeal hoped so. Seph just stared at Angeal as though he'd lost his mind, but thankfully, he turned and stalked to his room, still brooding. He was probably plotting the poor kid's doom already. Angeal shut the door to his room and shook his head as he made his way down the hall to his now cold bed.

~MEANWHILE~

Still in fear of pursuit from a Masamune-wielding psychopath, Zack bolted for the elevators. He mashed the innocent on the wall to death. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," he muttered as he waited for the elevator to make its slow climb upwards. Hopefully the damn thing wasn't broken down again. "Could this thing go any slower?!" he yelled, bordering on hysterics. About thirty seconds later, Zack was wondering how he was still alive, and the elevator finally reached the floor he was on. There was a ding as the doors slid open, and Zack bolted inside. He slammed his finger on the 'door close' button over and over again. From where he stood, he could see Sephiroth and Angeal talking. When the doors finally shut, he hit a random button—hopefully one Sephiroth wouldn't figure out. Zack crouched in the corner as the elevator slowly descended.

Not much longer, the doors slid open. To Zack's dismay, it was the floor of Hojo's lab. He didn't know who he'd rather deal with: Hojo or Sephiroth. Zack decided to take his chances with the creepy scientist and slipped out of the lift. '_At least nobody will ever think to look here,' _he thought as he snuck into the lab. He tried his hardest to look natural as he made his way through the dreaded rooms. Luckily, he hadn't run into a creepy assistant yet. '_I think I might be safe now—well, as safe as anyone can be walking through Hojo's lab. . .'_

"You there!" Zack swore and turned to face the voice, trying his hardest to look as innocent as possible. He smiled and looked at the assistant standing next to a silver table dressed in the usual lab coat. Instantly, he got the chills and wanted to bolt, but he stood his ground.

"Hello," he said, casually.

"What are you doing down here? This area is for personnel only," the creep said.

"Well, you see miss, I'm, uh, lost." Keeping up the act, Zack tried to look confused as he looked around the room.

"Yes, and Hojo isn't completely mad. Out. Now." The scientist pointed to the nearest exit. Eager to not get on anyone's bad side on this floor, Zack complied. He whirled around to leave, straight into a row of test-tubes. Surprisingly, only one fell free from the rack. Time seemed to slow as he watched the vial plummet to its doom, and most likely his own from the look on the assistant's face. _Crash. _The sound of glass shattering seemed to echo throughout the room as they watched the sickly green, and possibly glowing—you never know with Hojo—liquid spread across the floor.

"I can totally fix this," Zack said as he bent to pick up the bits of shattered glass from the hazardous puddle. What he didn't know was that the bits were extremely sharp. Well, he knew; he just didn't seem to care. Flinching as the glass sank into his flesh, Zack continued cleaning, not thinking twice about the wound. He didn't even realize the fluid seeping into his body through the incision on his thumb. Everything finally seemed to register in the woman's mind, and she instantly stormed over to where Zack was kneeling over the glimmering puddle. Grabbing him by the collar, she drug him all the way to the elevator, pressed the button and threw him inside. Finally, Zack looked down at his hand. Blood dripped off his thumb. He just shrugged, wiped the blood off, and pressed the button for his floor, hoping it was finally safe.

Sephiroth stepped out of the shower and went directly to the mirror above the sink. A small smiled ghosted across his face for a millisecond as he saw not black, but silver locks again. He ran his fingers through his dripping tresses happily. So, Angeal was right . . . again. Sephiroth huffed. '_That puppy of his is lucky it wasn't permanent. Oh, but he'll still pay. Nobody messes with my beautiful, beautiful hair,'_ Sephiroth thought as he continued to stroke his extremely long silver hair.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this ^^ Remember to review, cookies and pie to those who do. Also, hopefully I can have an update out within the next few days, no promises though. -Ales


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Zack reached his floor, the cut on his finger was burning and becoming inflamed. Still, he thought nothing of it and just wiped the blood off on his pants, ignoring the pain. Zack stepped of the elevator and made his way down the hall to his room. Fishing his key card out of his pocket, he opened the door and immediately went to the bathroom to find a bandage. When he finished fixing his finger, he headed to the couch to watch TV for the rest of the day. What he didn't expect t o see was a certain blonde-haired cadet already sitting on the couch, watching him intently. '_When did he get here? He wasn't there when I walked in . . . was he?'_ Zack thought as he walked over to the younger male. "Hiya my little chocobo," Zack said, ruffling the blonde's spiked hair. "How'd you manage to get in here?" Cloud flashed a plastic card. It was the spare to his room. "How . . .?" Cloud just flashed a grin and slipped the card back into his pocket.

"So Zack, I heard Seph looks good with black hair, though I prefer the silver. Do you know anything about how his hair got turned black?" Cloud questioned innocently.

Zack laughed awkwardly. "You see, that's a funny story. Reno bet me I wouldn't do it—and live. You know I can't deny a bet with a _Turk._ That's like . . . I don't even know, but it's not okay to do. I had to do it. You understand right Cloud?" Zack conjured up his infamous puppy dog eyes, and Cloud's slightly irritated demeanor began to crack. Finally, he sighed and gave in, forgiving Zack for his lack of better judgment.

"Do you mind if I stay here for a while? Seph's really weirding me out; he won't stop brushing his hair and muttering to himself. I actually caught him sitting in the corner, cradling his hair in his arms, whispering to it." Zack unsuccessfully tried to hold back his laughter and received a glare from Cloud.

"Poor Cloud, replaced by hair. Don't worry, I still love you!" Zack said, pouncing on the unsuspecting Cloud. Eventually, Cloud managed to get the older teen to let go, and he put as much space between them as possible to avoid further attacks. The rest of the afternoon went by as usual—TV and video games until it came time to get dinner. Zack offered to scrounge something up from his less than adequate pantry. He came back with an array of snacks and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch. As Zack sat down to eat, he began to scratch behind his ear. As if it had a mind of its own, Zack's leg began to bounce up and down. Confused, he immediately dropped his hand, which caused his leg to still. Cloud was staring at him with an expression that clearly said, "What the Hell?"

Zack shook his head, obviously as confused, if not more, as Cloud. Slowly, he raised his hand and scratched behind his ear again. His leg instantly started moving again. His hand fell to his side, and he turned to Cloud. "You saw nothing."

"Yeah, sure. Are you okay?" Zack let out a nervous chuckle.

"Of course I am chocobo-head," he said, praying it was really true.

The night continued on with only a few more increasingly awkward moments. The two were on the couch, watching one of Zack's favorite horror movies. Cloud began growing more and more nauseous as time went by. He never even wanted to think about seeing a man's insides ever again. A chainsaw revved to life on the screen, and Cloud buried his face in his hands before he could see the poor fool get disemboweled. "_Psst,_ Cloud!" Cloud jumped out of his skin at the sound of his friend's voice. "Pass me a blanket would ya?"

Cloud reached for the blanket that was piled on the floor by his feet. By opening his eyes to find the blanket, he risked glancing at the screen, which now showed a woman's beheaded corpse. Cloud's eyes were glued to the screen in terror, but he still managed to pass the blanket to Zack. Zack, for some odd reason, grabbed the blanket in his mouth and began tugging on it, trying to free it from Cloud's grasp. Cloud, still petrified by the horrors on screen, had a death grip on the fabric. Zack continued to tug on the end of the blanket, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. That broke Cloud out of his trance. He turned to face Zack and was met by the sight of his friend on his hands and knees with the blanket in his mouth. Utterly confused, Cloud tugged on the blanket, and Zack pulled back with even more force. He continued to growl at his friend, completely oblivious to the weird looks he was receiving. Finally, Cloud let go of the blanket, and Zack leapt from the couch, dragging the blanket—still in his mouth—with him.

"Uhm, Zack?" As if coming out of a trance, Zack stood from where he crouched on all fours and removed the fabric from between his teeth. He just stared at the blanket oddly. "Are you sure you're okay?" Cloud questioned, concerned for his friend's mental health. Sure Zack was an odd person, but he was never this insane.

"Yeah . . ." Zack said, letting the blanket slip from his grasp to the floor. "I'm, uh, gonna go shower." Wearily, Zack turned to head down the hallway towards his bathroom. A little while later, Zack emerged, rubbing his head with a towel, trying to dry his hair. Cloud still sat on the couch, but watched his friend, still worried about what just happened. When he reached the couch, Zack dropped the towel to the ground and shook out his hair. Cloud got pelted with water droplets as Zack tried new methods of drying his hair. "I just can't get dry," he said, running his hands through his still dripping hair.

Zack glanced down at the towel. Deciding it'd be too much work to pick it up; he dropped to the floor beside it and began rolling around on top of the fabric. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his head on the floor, forgetting the towel. By this point, Cloud figured something was seriously wrong. "Zack, get up." Cloud reached down to help his friend off the floor, but in an instant, Zack was on all fours and bolting down the hall. Sighing, Cloud went down the hall after him. Zack was sitting in his bed, watching the doorway, waiting for Cloud to step through.

Slowly, Cloud approached, not wanting to scare him off. He held his hands up, showing Zack he meant no harm. As soon as he got by the end of the bed, Zack leapt off, bolting back down the hall. Cloud could hear a loud bang as Zack collided with something. He rushed down the hall to see the bathroom door flung open, and Zack inside, staring intently at the toilet bowl. For the situation he's in, Cloud managed to somehow stay calm. He blocked off the door way so Zack couldn't escape.

Zack looked from Cloud to the toilet and back again. Cloud looked around and saw the bathroom was covered in water droplets, and the floor was absolutely soaked. What was wrong with his friend? Suddenly, Zack lunged for the door. He slammed into Cloud's shins, and Cloud let out a yelp as he went tumbling to the ground. He lay on the ground, annoyed, until Zack came and stared down at him. Cloud refused to acknowledge the older male hovering over him. Realizing this, Zack licked the side of his face, and before Cloud could wring his neck, he bolted.

Irritation replaced any worry for his friend. Cloud stalked down the hall to the living room and plopped down on the couch. "Whatever. If Zach wants to act completely nuts, let him," he muttered to himself. Zack continued to run laps around the apartment. When he'd run by Cloud, he'd jump up on the couch and jump down before Cloud socked him. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Zack tired himself out and flopped on the floor by Cloud's feet. Trying to be nice, Cloud helped him off the ground and to his bed. After Zack was safely in his bed, Cloud left and went to the couch to sleep.

In the morning, Cloud made his way back to Zack's room to check up on him. Instantly, he began to worry since he didn't see Zack's form in the bed. He frantically went around the apartment, looking everywhere, even under the bed, for Zack. After searching absolutely everywhere, Cloud fell to the bed, his hands over his face. "How could I lose someone like that?" he mumbled. Cloud jumped when he felt a slight pressure on his stomach. When he looked, he was staring into the bright blue eyes of a Husky puppy. "Oh no . . . Zack?" The little dog yipped. "What am I going to do now?"

A/N: Whoop already got an update out.. relatively surprising. I really shouldn't be allowed to have a computer though.. things like this story happen when I get my hands on one. Anywho, Thanks to those of you who reviewed, remember, treats to those who review ^^ -Ales


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud paced back and forth down the hall, still undecided of what to do with his now canine friend. Said friend was pacing the hall with him, but with different motives. Zack ran back and forth between Cloud's ankles, pouncing on his feet. Crouching, Cloud ruffled the puppy's ears, muttering, "What are we gonna do?" Zack yipped again, and jumped towards Cloud. He caught the small puppy easily. Cloud held him out, arm's length away. The puppy's tail was going wild, and he was trying to squirm out of the blonde's grasp. In a spur of the moment decision, Cloud tucked Zack under his arm and left the room, heading for Sephiroth's office.

The whole way to the General's office, the puppy was barking and trying to lick everyone they passed. At least once, he almost slipped from Cloud's grasp because of his writhing. Finally, they reached Sephiroth's office. Cloud, afraid of Sephiroth's reaction, knocked on the door, slowly opening it. "Seph?" he called. He walked in and didn't see Sephiroth where he usually sat. Cloud began to worry, clueless of where the Silver General could've gone. _Maybe he just went to check on some official Shin-Ra business… _Cloud thought. With a huff, he set Zack down on the floor and plopped down in Sephiroth's chair.

Zack wandered around the room, unable to reach anything in the office with his newly reduced height. Since he couldn't mess with anything on top of the desk, he settled for chewing on the carpet. He kept clawing at the carpet until it began to tear; then Zack switched to chewing on the bits that stuck up from the tear. The entire time Zack was entertaining himself, Cloud was completely clueless, and he was actually asleep in the posh chair.

Quickly boring of ruining the General's carpet, Zack went to find a new chew toy. He zeroed in on the chair Cloud was currently occupying. Starting on the wheels, he quickly rendered those useless. Then, standing on his hind legs, he barely managed to reach the back of the chair. He grabbed hold of the fabric and swung his head back and forth, shredding the material. The ripping noise roused Cloud from his catnap, and he quickly spun in the chair, which Zack still had a hold of. This effectively launched the poor puppy against the wall with a _thump._ Zack let out a pitiful yelp. Cloud rushed over to see what happened to him, but then he spotted the carpet. "Zack!" he scolded. "Do you know what Seph is going to do to you?!" Cloud reached down to scoop the puppy up, but before he could, Zack bolted.

Zack scrambled away from the blonde, afraid of being scolded. He saw a gap between the wall and a pile of boxes that he thought he could squeeze into. Zack ran, full speed, into the box, trying his hardest to get into the crevice. He didn't realize until too late that he was too wide to fit. Zack slammed into the boxes, causing them to teeter and fall, scattering papers all over the room. He sat and watched as the papers billowed throughout the room, ruining hours, if not days of Sephiroth's work. Cloud growled angrily at the puppy, lunging for him, but Zack slipped from his grasp.

He bolted around the room, managing to scatter the papers further. When Cloud tried to cut him off, Zack turned and ran the other way, kicking papers up towards the blonde. The room was now thoroughly covered in a white mass. Both Cloud and Zack could hear voices outside the office now. Zack scrambled into one of the overturned boxes, effectively hiding himself, leaving Cloud standing in the midst of the mess. The door opened, and a tired looking Sephiroth stepped through, stopping as he took in the state of his office. His face paled; then almost instantly, it turned an unnatural shade of red. "Cloud. . .What is going on here?" he said, eerily calm.

Cloud held his hands up, signifying his innocence. "Zack. Get out here," he said, turning towards the box which held the now shaking puppy.

"Oh, so this is Angeal's kids fault?! Where is he hiding?" Sephiroth bellowed, as he began scanning the room for any possible hiding place. He stormed over to the desk, checking underneath for the teen. When he found no trace of Zack, he lifted his head, and he spotted his chair. "What is this?!"

"W-What do you mean?" Sephiroth lifted the chair from where it sat and slammed it onto the desktop.

"What happened to my chair?!"

"Seph . . .You need to calm down. When you do, I'll explain everything." Sephiroth wouldn't settle for that. He began storming around the room, searching for the culprit. As he stomped past the box Zach was in, a small whimper escaped the puppy, and Sephiroth stopped in his tracks. He turned his fiery glare to the cardboard which was now visibly quaking. He flipped the box and was stunned to see a husky cowering inside. Not caring about the dog's safety, he yanked it out of the box by its scruff and swung the puppy around to face Cloud.

"What is the meaning of this?" he said, shaking the puppy at Cloud with every syllable. Cloud's gaze drifted from Zack's black and white face to Sephiroth's blazing eyes. Cloud nervously rubbed the back of his neck, trying to formulate a response.

"Well, you see . . . That's Zack." Sephiroth turned the squirming puppy to face himself.

"What?" His eye began to twitch out of annoyance and hatred for the puppy-teenager-thing.

"I don't know what happened exactly," Cloud began. "Yesterday I was spending the day at Zack's place and he started acting extremely weird when he got home. I don't know where he was, he never told me. Though I suspect he was hiding from a certain someone," Cloud said, directing a stern glace in Sephiroth's direction. "Anyway, he started acting like a dog, and when I woke up, I found a puppy in his place."

Sephiroth blinked slowly. "So you're telling me Zack transformed into a puppy?"

". . .Yes, and I brought him here 'cause I figured you'd know what to do." Cloud gave the elder a hopeful look. Sephiroth was unable to resist the teen. He carefully sat the dog on the floor, who bolted towards Cloud, cowering behind his legs.

Sephiroth sighed. "I have a feeling this has something to do with Hojo. I would just give it time to work its way out of his system. If he's not better in a few days, he'll have to go to the infirmary to see what's wrong with him. In the mean time, _you're_ going to help me clean up this mess."

"What'll I do with Zack then?"

"I know somebody who can babysit for you," Sephiroth said, an odd glint in his eyes.

Not too long later, they heard the door fly open and slam against the wall. "Genesis, how many times must I tell you to knock? And to not destroy my walls," Sephiroth questioned as he rose from the floor, papers falling from his lap as he stood. Genesis took in the state of the room and the General. He tried, unsuccessfully to hold back laughter.

"What, did a tornado hit your office? How did your chair get on your desk?" Sephiroth just stared at the red head. Instead of answering, he went to the back of the room and picked up a box, handing it off to Genesis.

"I need you to babysit this until further notice."

Genesis stared at the General as if he'd lost his mind. "You want me to babysit a box?" He shook his head, questioning the silver-haired man's sanity.

Sephiroth had to hold himself back from striking the man in front of him. "You're dense. I want you to babysit what's in the box. Now go, I have work to do." Sephiroth shoved Genesis out of the room before he could reply. He slammed the door and went back to where he and Cloud were gathering paperwork.

In the hall, Genesis felt something in the box move. Curious, he set the box on the floor. All the possibilities of what it could be went through his head. _What if it's rabid?_ He thought. Just to be safe, he unsheathed his sword that hung by his side and slowly removed the lid from the box. Before he could fully reveal the contents, said contents leapt out at him. He screamed like a girl and lunged backwards. Then he realized it was only a dog. "What were you doing in Sephiroth's office? And what does he want me to babysit you for?" he questioned the dog who simply yipped and licked the man's face. Not wanting to get any fur on his clothes, Genesis plopped the puppy back in the box and took him back to his room.

Once there, Genesis set the box on the floor. "Now, you stay there," he said, pointing to the dog who acted obedient, sitting in the box. Genesis left the puppy there while he wandered off, probably to go do something _Loveless_ related. As soon as he was out of Zack's view, the puppy leapt out of the box, aimlessly roaming around the apartment. Tiring quickly of the pointless meandering, Zack decided to find something destructive to do. He trotted up and down the hallway, avoiding Genesis' gaze. Zack waltzed into the bedroom and sitting on the bed was a leather-bound copy of _Loveless._ Determined, Zack tried to jump onto the bed, but to no avail. He didn't even manage to stick the landing as he plummeted to the floor.

He wanted that book though. The dreaded book he was forced to hear about so often. Zack backed up until his tail was against the wall, and he bolted for the bed. He jumped with all his might, trying his hardest to make it onto the bed. It looked like he was going to make it; until he slammed his face into the side of the bed. A small yelp escaped as he crashed to the floor. He simply lay on the floor after he failed to get on the bed with even his best effort. Zack's ear twitched as he heard a door open, and Genesis walked down the hall looking for the dog.

When he saw the box was empty, Genesis sighed and began walked about the apartment, calling out for the dog. Said dog was currently in the bedroom, trying to put on the cutest face and standing with his paws on the bed. Eventually Genesis reached the bedroom and saw Zack with his pouty dog face. "Nuh uh. You are _so_ not getting up there," Genesis said, walking over to shoo the dog out of the room. "C'mon." Zack whimpered softly, staring at the bed, then moving his pitiful gaze to Genesis. "Nope." Zack simply blinked at the man. Genesis' resolve was slowly cracking.

"You are not getting my bed covered in your nasty fur." Zack then put all four paws on the ground. He flopped his ears down in defeat as he stared at the ground as he walked over to Genesis. He slowly raised his gaze up to the man, begging one last time. Finally, his resolve broke. Genesis sighed and picked the dog up, placing him on the bed. He picked up the book that lay in the middle of the bed, wary of the puppy's teething habits. He placed it on the bedside table and patted Zack on the head as he left the room.

As soon as Zack heard the door shut down the hall, he launched himself towards the bedside table. Yanking the book off, he growled and began tearing at the pages.

Genesis sat in his study, reading a novel when he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Maybe I should go check on that puppy . . ." Genesis said, placing his book on the desk in front of his and heading down the hall to the bedroom where he last left the dog.

A/N: I feel like this is overdue. I'm sorry it's taking a bit to write but I'm being bogged down with a bunch of scholarship and college crap. I've already started on the next chapter, though I don't know when I can finish it and such.. Anyway, thanks for reading and a special thanks to Victoria Chrystallis and zexydemyx66 for the reviews. Remember to review and such, they keep me writing. -Ales


	4. Chapter 4

Genesis made his way to his bedroom where the adorable puppy managed to guilt Genesis to putting him on the bed. When he opened the door, he was not expecting to be met with the sight of his beloved _Loveless_ book shredded, and a puppy wagging his tail in utter glee at his horrendous crime. Genesis stormed over to the bed, running his fingers through the tattered bits of his obsession, noting they were soaked. He turned to the dog. "Did you," he began, but his voice caught in his throat with anger. "Did you pee on this?" To shred the pages is one thing, but to desecrate such wonderful literature with his vile fluids was another low completely.

Genesis felt his eye begin to twitch in sync with the convulsing of his hands. Slowly, he made his way to where the puppy sat, panting happily with his tail wagging. All he wanted to do was wring the dog's neck. As soon as he got near, the dog leapt from his perch, and bolted from the room. "Get back here you—you mangy mutt!" he belted, running after the dog. By the time he reached the end of the hall, Genesis had absolutely no clue where the puppy had disappeared to. "There's no use hiding pup! I'm going to find you; then I'm going to kill you."

If Zack were still human, he would have laughed outright in the Red Commander's face. In his canine body, he let out a harsh bark that sort of resembled what would be laughing. The red head turned to face the table where he heard and small bark. A malicious grin spread across his face as he made his way over. "Here puppy, puppy, puppy," he called. He got down on his hands and knees and glanced under the table where the little animal was crouching, ready to bolt. "Come here." Genesis reached for the dog, coming up short.

He slowly shuffled under the table, still on his hands and knees, edging closer to the surprisingly calm dog. As he reached towards it, his hand went dangerously close to his mouth, and the dog nipped at his fingers, catching the leather glove in his teeth. Genesis jumped from the sudden attack, slamming his head into the underside of the table, swearing loudly. New prize in tow, Zack ran as fast as his little legs would carry him back to the bedroom. He turned, heading straight for the open closet. Zack knew the inside of the man's closet would be ideal for hiding, and he dove behind a pile of clothes, burrowing his way in.

Genesis was running rampant around the apartment, trying his hardest to find the dog. "Damnit! Where did you go you filthy monstrosity?" Strings of curses flew from the man's mouth as he scoured the entire apartment. When he finally made his way back to the bedroom, he rested his head in his hands, mourning the loss of his beloved leather-bound poetry. Enhanced hearing picked up a gnawing sound coming from the closet. "You better not be doing what I think you are doing."

Genesis stalked towards the closet, following the mysterious gnawing noise. Unsheathing his sword, he prepared to skin the small animal alive as he stepped through the door. His eyes scanned the room, unable to spot the black and white hide he so desperately wanted to find. Suddenly, a little head poked out from the pile of clothes in the middle of his closet. Slowly, a sorry looking Zack crept over to the Commander, placing a slobbery, shredded glove at his feet. A shriek that could probably be heard throughout the entire building ripped free from the man's chest.

"First you get your nasty fucking fur all over my bed. Then you shred _Loveless, _and you even pissed on it! Then you decide my glove needs a makeover! I am going to skin you alive mutt!" Genesis screamed as Zack ran from the closet. The sword wielding Commander was right behind him, swinging his weapon wildly at the poor creature. At least once, the blade came close to gutting Zack, but luckily he managed to dodge at the last minute.

After a while of chasing the dog around like mad, Genesis finally had him cornered. The Zack had his back pressed against the wall, unable to go anywhere as Genesis stalked closer, sizing up the whole 12 inches of his prey. Genesis prepared to bring the sword down on the cowering dog, weapon on a perfect path to the puppy's head—until someone knocked on the door. The blade rammed into the ground, embedding itself into the wooden planks beneath the plush carpet. Fire burned behind the ginger's eyes.

Zack took this opportunity to bolt out of the man's reach, preparing to launch himself out the front door as soon as it opened. Still glaring daggers, Genesis opened the door. Cloud stood at the door, with a semi-amused looking Sephiroth. They both took in the trashed state of the apartment. Almost every piece of furniture was upside down, some even sporting slashes in the expensive leather, spewing stuffing onto the floor. The dining room table was slammed up against the wall, and all the chairs were broken and flung around the room. Both men saw the blade which now sat embedded in the floor. Cloud was snapped to attention by a small ball of fluff launching himself at him.

Cloud bent over and picked Zack up off the floor while Sephiroth questioned the Commander. "What happened here? Did a tornado come through?" he asked, mockingly, using the man's earlier words against him. Genesis mustered up his most horrifying glare, which didn't manage to phase the General one bit.

"You're lucky I do not have my sword," Genesis ground out between clenched teeth. He turned to Cloud, who was holding Zack to the best of his ability as the dog squirmed and writhed, trying to get as far away from the glaring red head as he could. "You," he said, "take that—that _thing_ as far away from me as physically possible. If I see it again, I will wring its scrawny little neck." With that, Genesis whirled around with a dramatic flair and slammed the door in the faces of the Cadet and the General.

Cloud held the dog at arm's length, staring into violet eyes. "What did you do this time?" he asked, sighing. Sephiroth stared at the dog momentarily.

"Since it's truly Zack, knowing him, he probably trashed _Loveless,_" Sephiroth said, both accusing and questioning the writhing mass of fluff. Said fluffball stopped squirming and simply stared at the General who was spot on. "Told you," he said, smirking at Cloud.

Cloud sighed. "Well what do we do now? There's nobody who can watch him since he pissed Genesis off. Wait," he said, an idea forming in his head, "what about Angeal?" He turned to Sephiroth, eyes hopeful. He knew the man would take good care of the pup, and Cloud also knew Zack wouldn't wreak havoc when in the man's care. Well, at least not as much havoc.

"He is off on a mission; he probably won't be back for a few days." Cloud's face fell.

"I can't take him back to the barracks with me, and he obviously can't stay by himself. Genesis would kill him then string his dead body up in the hall to boast his victory. Angeal's gone." Cloud turned to Sephiroth. "You—"

"No. Nonono," Sephiroth said, backing away from Cloud who began trying to shove Zack into the man's arms. "You saw what he did to my office. What he did to Genesis' apartment."

"Genesis probably did most of that himself," Cloud interrupted.

"Not the point. The point is: I will not take that thing into my house." Sephiroth crossed his arms with a note of finality. Refusing to take no for an answer, Cloud jammed the pup into Sephiroth's face.

"C'mon, Seph, look at those eyes," he begged. Zack was currently pulling the puppy- dog pout with precision.

"No." Cloud pulled the dangling puppy to his chest.

"C'mooon," he tried again. This time, they both had the pout plastered across their faces. Zack's paws rested on Cloud's hands, and he had his snout resting on top of his paws. Cloud rested his chin lightly on top of the pup's head. '_Don't look them in the eyes,'_ Sephiroth thought, slowly losing his resolve. He turned his back on the pouting pair.

"Not gonna happen Cloud. Give up." Cloud, unwilling to let the Silver General win, walked around so the two were facing the man again. This time, Cloud inched forward until the two were pressed against him, looking up into cat-like green eyes.

"Pleaaaaase." Unable to resist the pouting faces anymore, Sephiroth broke. He yanked the dog from the teen's hands.

"I can't believe I let you pressure me into taking care of this pain," Sephiroth said, trying to dodge the dog's attempts to lick his face. Zack seemingly gave up on the attempt, and Sephiroth turned to face Cloud, his cheek mere inches from Zack. In an instant, the dog lunged forward, licking up the man's face to his temple, leaving a slobbery trail. Sephiroth's face contorted into a look of utter disgust, and he felt his eye begin to twitch. "Zackary," he spoke menacingly, "we are 40-something floors above the ground. Do not make me dump you out the window. I don't think you want your little innards splattered on the sidewalk."

Cloud made a disgusted noise and yanked Zack from Sephiroth's arms, swatting him upside the head. Sephiroth just glared down at the Cadet, beginning to wipe the dog's slobber from his cheek.

A/N: Sorry this is so short; I was planning on being able to write all day and post a longer chapter tonight, but sadly I had to become an exterminator today. My room has been invaded by eight legged monsters, so instead of writing today I had to tear my room apart, killing the little bastards before they killed me. Anyway, if you can't tell, there's a slight Seph/Cloud and there may be a slight Angeal/Zack aspect to this, but nothing much. Don't worry for those who despise yaoi with the very essence of their being, there won't be any actual yaoi bits, just mere hints or suggestions. Now I'm done rambling. Leave a review? I'd love it if you did. ~Ales.


	5. Chapter 5

The two men and their newfound puppy were now inside Sephiroth's apartment. It was only 6 o'clock, though it seemed like more time had passed. Sephiroth went into the kitchen to make dinner. He decided to broil some steaks. He turned around to see where Cloud was when he almost tripped on Zack who was staring raptly at the oven by Sephiroth's feet. "Damn it Zack, move out of the way," Sephiroth said, nudging the puppy away with the toe of his boot.

Zack, unwilling to lose his spot, ran back in front of the oven to stare at the slabs of beef cooking. Sephiroth stared at the once-human dog. "Are we really going to fight about this?" he asked, reaching down for the Zack. He plucked the pup off the ground and walked him out to the living room, placing him on the black leather couch. "Zackary, you stay there." Sephiroth went back to the kitchen. Zack lay on the couch, placing his head on his paws, pouting. Cloud came out of the shower, shaking his hair out, droplets of water splattering everywhere. He walked into the kitchen to see what Sephiroth was doing, and noticed Zack pouting on the couch.

"Seph," Cloud said, sneaking up behind the man. "What did you do to Zack?"

"I kicked him out of the kitchen. Why do you ask?"

"He's pouting on the couch."

"_When isn't that teenager pouting?" _Sephiroth muttered. "He's not coming back in here." Sephiroth turned back to the salad he was making.

"But Seeeph," Cloud whined. "He just looks so lonely out there." Cloud looked out into the living room where Zack was now perched on the arm of the couch, trying to look into the kitchen. Sephiroth spun to face Cloud, holding the knife he was using to cut vegetables between them.

"Cloud. No."

"Seeeeph." Cloud blinked up at the taller man. Sephiroth glared down at Cloud.

"You know I hate when you do that," he muttered, turning back to the vegetables he was mutilating. Cloud took his silence as a yes. He went into the living room and scooped the puppy up, taking him to the kitchen. Cloud plopped him into a corner.

"Stay there Zack, or you'll be kicked out again. I won't save you next time." Zack obeyed, sitting in the corner while he watched the two men go about making dinner. Cloud would occasionally sneak a piece of cucumber or lettuce and toss it down to Zack, thinking Sephiroth didn't notice. As Cloud tossed a piece of lettuce down, Sephiroth commented.

"If you keep giving Zack all the food, you won't have anything left for yourself," he said, with his back turned to them. '_How did he know?'_ Cloud thought. Cloud simply huffed at the comment and went to set the table.

"Seph," Cloud called from the dining room. "What's Zack gonna eat? And where's he gonna sit?"

"Food," Sephiroth replied as though it was totally obvious. "He'll sit on the floor like every other dog." Cloud simply sighed and went on setting the table for the two humans. "Don't even try the pout either. He stays on the floor." Cloud groaned.

"Fine." Sephiroth came out of the kitchen with two steaks on a plate, and he had a bowl of salad in his other hand. Placing both on the table, Sephiroth went back into the kitchen, retrieving a paper plate with small bits of steak on it. There was also a bit of lettuce on the side. Even If Zack was a dog, he would still eat proper. He handed the plate to Cloud to give to Zack. Cloud went to his seat, with the puppy trailing behind him. "Zack, sit." They puppy obeyed. Cloud placed the plate in front of the dog, who began to swallow the bits whole.

"He's like a vacuum cleaner," Sephiroth observed from where he sat. Within seconds, the plate was clean, and Zack was looking for more. Ignoring the dog, Sephiroth went back to his food, leaving Cloud to be the subject of the dog's pouts. Cloud was perfectly fine ignoring the dog's stares, but soon the puppy inched closer, resting his head on Cloud's knee.

"Zack, go away," Cloud said, shaking his knee, but the dog refused to move, and his head bounced along with Cloud's leg. Sephiroth smirked around a bit of steak. "Don't even." He stared back down at the dog who now had both paws resting on his thighs. "Zack!" Cloud angrily chewed his food, trying to ignore the growing nuisance by his side. Realizing he wouldn't go away, much to Spehiroth's dismay, Cloud launched a piece of steak across the apartment. It splattered on the living room wall, leaving juices running down the white paint. "Fetch," Cloud said, brooding.

Sephiroth turned to Cloud, murderous. Cloud faced the man, his eyes burning. "I'll fix it later, that is, if Zack doesn't first," Cloud said, staring at the dog who somehow got on the couch and was now licking the steak juice off the wall, leaving slobbery trails all over the previously pristine wall.

"I'm going to kill you both," Sephiroth muttered, finishing his dinner. The rest of the night went by as usual, Sephiroth and Cloud watching movies until they couldn't even focus on the screen anymore. By the time they were both tired, it was about 3 in the morning. Zack was already passed out on the floor, and Cloud looked down at the puppy. He lay on his back, his paws in the air, twitching slightly. Cloud shook his head as he got up to go to bed. Sephiroth followed suit, leaving the puppy on the carpet, hoping he wouldn't ruin anything else.

Cloud and Sephiroth finally woke up around eleven the next morning. Cloud was the first out of bed, trying to find Zack. He walked down the hall and instantly smelled the horrible stench of urine. "Oh no," he said, dread filling him. "Hopefully it wasn't on the carpet." Cloud began frantically looking about the apartment, both for Zack and for any unsightly yellow stains. "Zack," he called softly, trying to not alert Sephiroth to the fact that he'd lost him in the first place. Cloud began opening every door down the hall and when he came across the bathroom, he was met with an odd sight.

Somehow, Zack had managed to lift himself onto the toilet seat and currently had his head in the bowl. Not too far from him was a puddle. Cloud instantly knew where Zack had his accident and went to get paper towels to clean it, but he realized he should probably get Zack's head out of the toilet first. He stormed over, avoiding the puddle spreading across the floor at all costs, and pried Zack out of the toilet by the scruff of his neck. He placed Zack on the floor and went to grab paper towels and dish soap.

Zack sat there, looking smug, while Cloud cleaned up the puddle of his piss. "At least you didn't pee on the carpet," Cloud said, while he scrubbed the floor with the soap. Zack slowly looked away when Cloud glanced over at him, refusing to look him in the eyes. "Did you?" he demanded. Zack finally met his gaze and shook his head. "Good." Zack, bored of watching Cloud clean, wandered towards the bedroom where Sephiroth was now sitting on the bed.

"Where's Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, rising from the bed. Zack pranced down the hall, stopping at the bathroom. Sephiroth glanced in at Cloud who was on his knees, scrubbing the floor. "Why are you cleaning the floor by hand? And why does it reek of piss?" He asked, turning his gaze to the dog who bolted down the hall. Sighing, he looked back at Cloud who was finally done cleaning the floor. He discarded the soiled paper towels and turned to Sephiroth.

"We really need to get him fixed," Cloud said exasperated. Sephiroth merely nodded.

"We'll take him down to the labs to see what can be done. I will go get dressed. You may want to do the same," he said, staring down at Cloud who was clad in only white boxers with tiny chocobos printed on them. Cloud glanced down, and his face flushed immediately.

When both men were dressed, Sephiroth secured Masamune to his hip and motioned for Cloud to get Zack. "Don't let him know where we're taking him or he'll run," Sephiroth whispered. Cloud nodded and walked into the living room where Zack was currently chasing his tail. Cloud simply watched for a moment, amused at the dog's antics. When Zack realized he was being watched, he stopped and stared up at Cloud.

"Zack, do you wanna go for a walk?" The dog cocked his head to the side. "Let's go," Cloud said cheerily, turning and heading out the door Sephiroth held open. Zack trotted behind him, his tail wagging happily. Sephiroth brought up the rear, making sure his door was shut and locked. Cloud led the way to the elevator and Sephiroth caught up to them, pressing the button to call for the elevator. Slowly but surely the car made its way to them.

Finally, the doors opened and the trio stepped inside, Cloud hit the door close button and Sephiroth hit the button for Hojo's lab. Zack saw the button that was now lit up, and immediately he tried to make a run for it. Luckily, the doors shut just in time, and Zack plowed into the unforgiving metal of the doors. Sephiroth had to hold back a chuckle, sure he didn't want to go talk to that creep of a scientist, but he wouldn't run into the elevator doors to try and escape him either. Zack was frantically running about the small car, barking wildly, trying to figure out some way to escape. He leapt up on Cloud's leg, digging his claws in. Cloud just pushed him down. "We're going to make you better Zack," he said, not looking down at the frantic puppy.

When the elevator finally came to a stop, Zack was cowering in the corner, unwilling to move. Cloud bent to pick him up, but that only resulted in him being growled at. As Cloud moved his hands closer, the rumbling in Zack's chest grew louder and louder. Cloud pulled back, afraid of being bitten, and looked at Sephiroth. "A little help?" Sephiroth sighed and leaned over to pick Zack up, who ferociously growled at the General. Zack was silenced with a signature glare from Sephiroth. Still refusing to give up the fight, Zack dug his claws into the floor of the elevator. Slightly annoyed, the General bent over and plucked the dog off the ground.

"Let's go." Sephiroth walked out of the elevator with Cloud trailing behind, almost as unwilling as Zack to go into the labs. Sephiroth shoved the doors to the lab open and waltzed inside.

"G-General Sephiroth," a flustered assistant stuttered. "We weren't expecting you today. M-May I ask you why you're here?"

Sephiroth looked at the assistant as though she held the same value as a house fly. "We need some help with this," he stated, holding Zack out in front of him.

"With a dog . . .?"

"This is First Class SOLDIER Zackary Fair." The woman simply stared at her as though he had grown a second head.

"Uhm, General? Have you lost your mind? Clearly that is a dog."

"Clearly you are an imbecile," he muttered. "This dog has been affected by one of your . . . employer's concoctions." She still stared at the General like he was mad. Cloud finally stepped up.

"Look, my friend Zack was in here the other day hiding from Sephiroth. He must've gotten into something when he was here. Later that night he was acting strange—like a dog—and when I woke up in the morning Zack was nowhere to be found and in his bed was this puppy." Sighing, the assistant finally decided to fetch Hojo—though much to Cloud's dismay. Sephiroth stood there, waiting patiently, while trying to contain Zack who was now trying to leap from his arms. Luckily, Sephiroth was wearing his leather coat, so he could feel the claws that would be digging into his arm.

Eventually the sleazy scientist showed up, seeming unamused and annoyed by the interruption. "So I hear your friend mutated due to one of my serums?" Hojo squinted and shoved his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, that would be right," Sephiroth said, pulling the trembling dog closer to his chest. Hojo scrunched his nose and peered at Zack.

"Place him on the table," the scientist demanded, gesturing to a nearby examination table.

"Sorry," Sephiroth mumbled into the dog's fur, and he placed the cowering pup on the table.

"How long did it take for him to mutate?" Sephiroth looked to Cloud who was paling. He placed a hand on the cadet's shoulder.

"Maybe 12 hours," Cloud said.

"When did he exhibit odd behavior?"

"Around dinner time of the same day."

"Hmm, that sounds similar to the same results I've gotten from a few other test subjects. This should wear off anytime from a few days to a month. If he doesn't die." Cloud almost fainted. Zack lost control of himself and peed on the examination table. Hojo glared down at the dog."You filthy vermin!" he wailed, trying to grab Zack, but Sephiroth was quicker. He snatched Zack from the table and began walking towards the elevator. On his way past Cloud, he snagged the teens collar, dragging him beside himself. He set the dog on the floor when they reached the elevator doors, and he released Cloud's shirt, pressing the button.

"You don't think he'll die do you Seph?"

"No, that would be too much good fortune on my part. Who would annoy me then?" he replied as the doors in front of them opened. He nudged the dog in and pushed Cloud into the car. Stepping in, he pulled out his access card and hit the button for his floor after swiping the card. "What are we going to do if he's stuck like that for a month?"

"I dunno," Cloud said from where he knelt by the dog, scratching behind his ears. "We're gonna need some supplies though." Sephiroth sighed, pressing his forehead against the cool metal of the wall. Soon, the elevator dinged, and everyone stepped out. Cloud swore the Gods were out to get them now. As soon as they set foot in the hall, Genesis stepped into the hall, his nose buried in a back-up copy of _Loveless_. Quickly, Cloud scooped Zack off the floor and tried to find somewhere to hide him. Coming up with nowhere, Cloud shoved the dog under his shirt. He had to hold back fits of laughter as the puppy's whiskers tickled the bare skin of his stomach.

Slowly, the two began walking down the hall towards Genesis. Said red-head looked up at the sound of footsteps. He nodded in acknowledgement, and the two said their hellos. Cloud was willing with all his might for Genesis to not look down and see the bulging mass of his stomach. Doing the complete opposite, Genesis looked down. He cocked his head to the side and stepped towards the teen. "My my Cloud, getting fat are we?" he questioned, poking his stomach. Genesis felt the mass under his finger squirm, and his eyes narrowed. "That's the dog isn't it?"

"N-No."

"It is." Genesis reached forward to lift Cloud's shirt, but before he could, Cloud took off down the hall towards Sephiroth's room. He was too busy looking over his shoulder at Genesis to realize there was someone in front of him. Cloud ran into a wall of solid muscle and flew backwards, hitting the floor. Upon impact, Zack flew out of Cloud's arms and slid down the hall. "I knew it!" he heard Genesis scream, followed by heavy footfall rushing towards the pair. Cloud looked back to the man he'd run into to apologize quickly, until he saw who it was.

A/N: Who will it be? It may be the least most expected person possible. Well, you're just gonna have to wait to see :3 So thanks to those who've read to this point, reviewed, favorited, and followed. A very special thanks to zexydemy66 who has been with this story since I posted it. Also, while I'm writing this, I've managed to come up with a few oneshots and drabbles to help get rid of the writers block/unwillingness to write. I'm not sure if I'm going to post them or not. If anybody wants to read them let me know and I'll probably post em. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave some love. ~Ales.


	6. Chapter 6

Angeal stood in the hall, looking between the three men and the dog which was still sliding down the hall. "S-Sorry Angeal," Cloud muttered, shakily getting to his feet. Genesis closed the distance between himself and Zack.

"I'm going to kill you!" he screeched. Cloud sighed, running towards the Commander, and Cloud dove for the man. Genesis felt the lithe form of the teen barrel into his knees, bringing him down instantly, his fingertips merely inches from the dog. "Get off me Cadet!" Cloud wrapped his arms around the red-head's thighs, and wrapped his legs around his calves, preventing the man from standing. Genesis wouldn't be stopped so easily. He slowly clawed his way toward Zack who just sat there, watching the entire debacle, backing up when Genesis got too close for comfort.

Angeal glanced from where Genesis was dragging the blonde down the hall to Sephiroth who merely stood there, holding the book Genesis had launched at him when he lunged for the dog. "Sephiroth," he began, looking back at the pair on the floor, "what is going on here?"

"Maybe if you hadn't gone off on a mission you wouldn't have missed all the fun." Sephiroth didn't know how to continue; he didn't know if he should tell Angeal if Zack was a puppy or not. Deciding it'd be more fun to keep him out of the loop, Sephiroth began with the story. "Well, Cloud suddenly became the proud owner of a lovely puppy. He didn't know what to do with it, so he brought it to me. Only after the mangy mutt destroyed my office, he was sent away with Genesis who currently has a vendetta against the poor animal." Sephiroth smirked. Angeal thought he had a clue of what happened. He urged Sephiroth to continue. "Turns out the pup shredded and defiled _Loveless._ So, after taking the dog on a trip, we were just returning to my room. We are now at the part where you enter; I think you know what happens from there."

Angeal looked back to the pair and shook his head. He covered the few steps between himself and the dog and reached down, grabbing both the dog and Genesis. He easily pulled the pup free from the Commander's grasp and held both at arm's length in front of himself. Genesis began pouting and glared at the dog behind held by the scruff of his neck beside him. Cloud was still clinging to the Commander, unaware of their new position seeing as how he had his eyes clenched shut. Genesis shrugged out of Angeal's grasp and looked down at the blonde still attached to his legs. He leaned down, flicking Cloud in the middle of his forehead, startling the teen into letting go of his limbs.

Cloud glanced up from where he was now sprawled out on the floor. Angeal was staring down at him while cradling the little dog to his chest, and Sephiroth was now making his way over. When Sephiroth passed Genesis, the Commander yanked the book from the General's gloved hand and stalked off down the hall, brooding. Sephiroth bent over, helping Cloud up, and whispering in his ear at the same time, "Don't tell him about Zack." Once Cloud was on his feet again, he glanced at Sephiroth with a questioning look, and the General just nodded.

Cloud turned back to Angeal. "Sorry for the inconvenience," he muttered.

Angeal just smiled down at the small cadet. "It's no problem. So this is your puppy?"

"I guess you could say that. My, uh, friend needed somebody to watch his dog for a while, and I guess I was the only one who could manage him. When I agreed to watch him, I wasn't thinking about the fact that I live in the barracks, and I don't have anywhere to keep him. I don't have any supplies either. By now, he's already trashed Seph's office, and you saw how Genesis reacted to the poor pup," Cloud said, staring at the floor, afraid to continue, fearing the man would refuse to help. Maybe if he just told him it was Zack . . . No. Sephiroth told him not to. Cloud sighed. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to help." Cloud looked around the hall at anything that wasn't the dark haired male that stood in front of him.

Angeal looked down at the puppy that was snuggled against his chest. "I'll be happy to help." Cloud looked up, smiling. "He can stay in my apartment with me. Of course, you can come visit him whenever you want. I guess I'll need to go to the store to get necessities for him. Would you like to come?" Cloud looked up at Sephiroth who smiled. "You can come too Seph." Both the blonde and the General nodded. The three of them set off towards the elevator, happy to be getting out of the stuffy building.

"So why are you back from your mission early?" Sephiroth questioned while they waited for the elevator to make its way to their floor.

"Turns out the guy I was after killed himself. So I was able to come back early." Sephiroth nodded. "So, who are you watching the dog for Cloud?" Cloud's eyes widened.

"Uhm, just a friend," he said, staring at Zack who was extremely content in the man's arms. He reached out to ruffle his ears.

"Well, alright then. He is cute though," he murmured. Zack looked up at Angeal, yipping in agreement, and wagging his tail. When they got to the bottom floor finally, Angeal put Zack on the ground, hoping he wouldn't run. When he didn't bolt, they went on their way. As they walked, Zack wound his way between everyone's legs, almost tripping everyone at least once. When Sephiroth almost fell for what seemed like the tenth time in under a minute, he placed his foot on the underside of the puppy and launched Zack into the grass. There he sat, staring at the three men, refusing to move. When Cloud noticed the lack of the annoying dog, he looked around, spotting the furball in the grass.

"Zack, c'mon." The puppy shook his head. "Zack." Another shake. He narrowed his violet eyes at the General standing next to Cloud. The blonde looked at Sephiroth. "Seph, what'd you do?"

"Nothing," he muttered, glaring back at Zack.

"Seph."

"He tried to trip me again and again so I taught him how to fly." Both Cloud and Angeal stared, gaping at the General. Cloud shook his head.

"You can't do that Seph. Apologize."

"I will not. He tried to kill me."

"Sephiroth. I don't think he could kill you, even if he was trying."

"I will not apologize to a dog." Cloud punched Sephiroth in the arm and glared daggers up at the taller man. "Fine. _Sorry,_" he muttered, and the dog instantly came trotting over, obviously happy at winning the battle against ShinRa's best. Angeal stared as the dog wagged his tail, prancing ahead of them.

"Strange," he said to himself.

Eventually they made it to the pet store, and almost instantly they regretted it. Zack was running rampant around the store as soon as he made it in. Cloud, of course, went running after him screaming his name. By the time Cloud caught up with him, Zack had his head jammed under one of the shelves in the food aisle. Cloud grabbed his hind legs and yanked the dog free, hauling him back to the two men who stayed near the entrance. "If I put you down will you be good?" Zack nodded. Cloud hesitated, and then placed the dog on the ground.

Almost instantly, Zack took off again. Cloud simply sighed and stared off in the direction the dog had run. He stalked off, and the two SOLDIERs followed him. When they finally found Zack, he was running up and down the aisle that held treats and bones, while carrying a bone that was at least two times his size. When he saw the three, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Zackary," Sephiroth said, "Drop the bone." Refusing, Zack slowly backed up, right into a display. A container of tennis balls rained down on the puppy and scattered across the aisle.

Sephiroth sighed, stomping over to the dog, yanking him off the floor. "C'mon." He stormed back over to where Angeal stood and passed Zack off the bulky man. He grabbed Cloud and dragged him over to the mess. "It's your fault we're in this mess." Before Cloud could protest, Sephiroth cut him off. "If it were up to me, the pup would be wandering the streets until he came crawling back as the normal, overzealous SOLDIER we all know." Sephiroth looked at Cloud then down at the scattered tennis balls, signaling him to start cleaning. Cloud sighed, swearing to himself that Zack was going to pay for everything he's made Cloud clean.

A/N: First off, I would like to apologize for such a late upload, and the fact that this chapter is relatively short. As of lately I have had no will to write due to some problems with friends. Hopefully, I should be back into the swing of things soon, but it's hard to tell. Thank you to those of you who've stuck with this story, to those who have followed, and especially those who reviewed. I feel like this chapter is not as good as the rest, but I promise the next will be better. Remember to leave some love. Thanks again. -Ales


	7. Chapter 7

Angeal tucked the pup under his arm and made his way back to the front of the store, grabbing a cart. He placed Zack inside, hoping he wouldn't manage to jump out. Surprisingly, Zack went to the front of the cart, standing on his hind legs to rest his head on the top of the cart. His tail wagged back and forth as Angeal began making his way through the aisles. Angeal had to suppress a grin as he passed by the two ShinRa employees collecting tennis balls, and Zack let out a happy bark. "Where should we start?" Angeal muttered to himself. "I guess we should get you some food first," he said to the puppy as he walked past the numerous bags of dog chow.

Angeal's shoulders sagged slightly when it registered in his mind that he had absolutely no clue what type to buy. There were just so many choices. So many different brands to choose from. Sighing, he looked at the dog. "You pick." Angeal slowly pushed the cart down the aisle, allowing the dog to sniff each bag. After going down almost the entire aisle and having Zack lick almost every bag, he eventually spent a little extra time on a bag. Finally, he'd made his choice. Zack sank his teeth into the bag and tried to pull it off the shelf. Luckily, Angeal was quick enough to intervene and catch the top heavy bag before it landed on the dog.

The man placed the package of food under the cart and continued down the aisle. Unhappy with having the food beneath him and not where he could tear into the bag, Zack began clawing at the plastic beneath him, trying to get to the food. Angeal simply shook his head at the dog's antics, pushing the cart down the next aisle. "I guess you'll need a bowl for that food huh?" Angeal grabbed two simple stainless steel bowls from the shelf, placing them in the cart.

By this time, Cloud and Sephiroth had finally finished cleaning all the tennis balls off the floor and had met up with Angeal. They finished shopping with only a few more incidents. Once, Zack had picked a fight with what looked like a Mastiff. Zack also decided it'd be fun to play hide and go seek throughout the aisles. Eventually, they left the store. Angeal was lugging the bag of food while Sephiroth was stuck carrying everything else. Cloud said it'd be best if he took everything just in case he had to chase Zack down. Sephiroth figured Cloud just didn't want to carry his share. Zack happily trotted along the sidewalk with an unusual swagger, while carrying the bone which was double the pup's size.

When they made it back to the building, they went straight to Angeal's apartment. Sephiroth set the bags on the floor, and Zack instantly dropped the bone and jammed his face into the nearest bag. He pulled out a stuffed squirrel with a squeaker in the tail. Zack ran around the room, the toy flailing around in his mouth, while everyone else took care of the supplies. By the time they were finished putting everything in its rightful place, Sephiroth felt like he would forever have that annoying squeaking in his head.

Cloud had yanked the toy from Zack's mouth as soon as possible and distracted Zack so he could shove the toy under the couch. When Zack looked back and saw Cloud's hands empty, he narrowed his eyes, looking from his hand to his face over and over. Cloud shook his head and sat down on the floor, beckoning Zack over. Hesitantly, Zack made his way over, still brooding about losing his toy. He climbed into Cloud's lap, and the teen immediately began scratching behind the puppy's ears. Soon Zack was nodding off while Cloud continued to pet him.

Sephiroth came out of the kitchen where Angeal was making lunch, and saw Cloud now laying on the floor with Zack on his chest, both of them falling asleep. Clouds' hand was resting on the dog's head and Zack rubbed his head against it in his sleep. "Finally, a break from that kid's overly energetic behavior," Sephiroth said, walking back into the kitchen to talk to Angeal. "Are you sure you can handle that dog? He's quite a handful."

Angeal looked up from the pan of chicken in front of him. "He acts well mannered around me. Maybe he just doesn't like you," Angeal offered, smiling.

'If only you knew,' Sephiroth thought. "He knows he won't get in trouble from me." Sephiroth chuckled and looked back out at the two still lying on the floor, smiling slightly.

"Zack, c'mon. You need to get in the bath." Angeal was trying to find the dog who had mysteriously disappeared after hearing the word 'bath'. While outside, Zack managed to roll in every single mud puddle he could find before Angeal could stop him. It was only a day after he'd been left with Angeal, and he was already trying to push the man's buttons. So when the two got back to Angeal's apartment, Zack ran off to hide while Angeal started the bath. Now, Angeal was about to tear the apartment to find him before everything he owned was covered in mud.

"Zack, you've got until the count of three to get out here, otherwise you won't get dinner tonight." Angeal stood in the doorway of the bathroom and began counting. By the time he was about to say three, Zack came slinking down the hallway, stopping in front of Angeal with his head down and his tail between his legs. He looked up, using his best pout, as a last resort to try to avoid the dreaded bath. He folded his ears back, dropped his snout, and looked up at Angeal with big eyes. Angeal would have none of it though. He plucked the dog off the floor and dropped him in the warm water which instantly turned brown from all the mud on the pup. Angeal took off the dog's new collar, not wanting it to get soaked. He'd have to clean it later.

Zack just stood in the water, unwilling to move. He stared down at the floor of the tub while Angeal scrubbed the mud from his fur. Finally when he was clean, Angeal lifted Zack from the water and let the tub drain. He placed Zack on the floor and turned to grab a towel. Before he could get a towel over the dog, Zack shook the water from his fur, sending water droplets flying all over the bathroom and Angeal. The man sighed and threw a towel over the dog as he began to shake again.

When Angeal thought Zack was finally dry, he let the dog bolt out of the bathroom. He began to clean the water off everything and got the fur out of the bath tub. Once the bathroom was finally clean, Angeal wanted nothing more to sit back and relax. Zack on the other hand had other ideas. When Angeal walked into the living room, Zack was rubbing the side of his face against the carpet, constantly switching sides. He then rolled onto his back, wiggling back and forth, kicking his legs in the air. When he spotted Angeal watching him rolling on the floor, Zack leaped to his feet and ran down the hall.

At the end of the hall, Zack dug his claws into the carpet and came to a halt. He turned and bolted the other way. Zack was up and down the hallway in a matter of seconds. He looked up at Angeal who reached down to pat the dog on the head. Before Angeal could reach him, Zack bolted downt he hall and back again. Shaking his head, Angeal went and sat on the couch, watching the dog run laps around the apartment, hoping he'd run out of energy soon. Zack had no plans of stopping any time soon though.

On one of his trips around the couch, he spotted a fluffy tail poking out from beneath the piece of furniture. He stuffed his head beneath the sofa and yanked the toy out, making it squeak over and over. Now, not only was he running amok around the house, but Zack now had the added bonus of an obnoxious squeaky toy.

Angeal could only hope that either the toy died or Zack exhausted himself before he was driven to insanity. "Maybe I made a mistake," he muttered, watching as the puppy ran, slapping himself in the face with his stuffed squirrel as he moved.

A/N: I have no clue why this is so late. Sorry to those of you who were waiting on an update. Thank you to Yume no Neko and also zexydemy. I feel like I repeat myself every chapter here, but I just want to show how much I really appreciate and love those of you who give feedback and follow/fav this. It's nice to know people love what I write. Thanks for sticking with me and my absurd story. -Ales


	8. Chapter 8

Cloud sat at the table, his elbows on the table, head in his hands. The two were currently sitting in the dining room, baby sitting the pup while Angeal went to the store. Zack couldn't be left alone for more than 10 seconds. Angeal learned that lesson the hard way when he left Zack alone to go get groceries once. He returned to a completely destroyed kitchen. "What are we gonna do Seph? It's been two weeks and Zack still isn't back to normal," he mumbled. Sephiroth sat across from the teen, slightly annoyed by his lack of manners. He shook his head.

"Hojo said it may take a month, if he's ever going to change back to begin with." Sephiroth looked into widened blue eyes. The look of utter horror that crossed the blonde's face was almost humorous. "He'll change back. If he doesn't, I can always convince Hojo to fix him somehow. I can be quite convincing when I want to be," he said, an oddly malicious glint in his eyes. Cloud just sighed, letting his head to fall to the table.

"I just don't know how much longer I can deal with him like this." Currently, Zack had run off with the cadet's boot and was tearing the leather to shreds, all the while staring in Cloud's general direction, occasionally making eye contact. The mocking look could be conveyed even in dog form. The last time Cloud tried to retrieve his boot from Zack, it ended with Zack hoarding it under the couch, growling menacingly. When Cloud would reach under the couch, the pup would nip his fingertips until the teen gave up.

Sephiroth gave him an incredulous look. "So you're telling me you'd rather deal with the normal Zack? The one who could talk?" He shook his head slowly. "I personally like this version of him better. Much less of an annoyance." Cloud raised his head from the table and stared at the General as if he'd grown two heads. The pup had been nothing but trouble for Cloud. "Much less of an annoyance for me at least, he knows better than to disturb me," he amended. Cloud just narrowed his eyes at the man, his shoulders heaving with a sigh.

Neither male had been paying the slightest bit of attention to the dog that had now waddled his way over to the table. After hearing Sephiroth's boasting about how he'd left him alone—out of fear for his life—Zack decided he needed to be more of a pain in the ass to the lovely General. He meandered between the man's boots, trying to keep from rubbing against his leg and giving away his position. Zack then proceeded to mark Sephiroth's boot as his. Somehow, Zack managed to be the epitome of stealth and walked out from under the table, his tail wagging with the happiness from a completed mission. Cocky, he sat beside Cloud with the best shit-eating grin a dog could possibly muster.

Cloud looked down at the pup and missed the expression that formed on Sephiroth's face. The elder man's face scrunched as he took in an odd odor. "Cloud, do you smell that?" he asked, looking around the room for the source, completely oblivious to the fact that it was rising from under the very table they sat at. Cloud began to answer when the smell of pee assaulted his nose; he looked back down to Zack.

"What did you do now?" he muttered to the dog. In reply, Zack simply cocked his head to the side, wagging his tail and panting happily as if he'd done absolutely nothing wrong. It finally dawned on Sephiroth that Zack marked his territory somewhere, but he didn't know where yet. He stood, about to search the room, while also contemplating skinning said dog alive. It wasn't until he stood that he realized something was wrong—very wrong. Zack was sitting beside Cloud, acting like an angel, which he never does unless . . . Sephiroth looked under the table where Zack had previously been doing his business and saw the puddle where his feet had been resting.

"Zackary Fair." His voice had that insane ring to it which only arises when somebody—or in this case something, was about to meet an untimely end. Sephiroth stomped over to the dog, raising himself to his full 6 foot 1 stature, and glared down at him. The pup looked as if he wanted to run, but was too afraid to even blink under such a menacing stare. "Zackary Fair," he repeated, the insane undertone making itself more known, "what have you done?" Slowly, Sephiroth bent down to pick him up, most likely by the throat, but before he could, the door flew open.

Cloud, who had also been frozen in place due to the General's fierce glare, spun in his chair, almost toppling over. To his surprise, Genesis stood in the doorway in all his graceful, somewhat feminine beauty. Sephiroth, who didn't want to take his eyes of the pup, ruefully dragged his eyes up to meet the man's gaze. At that instant, Zack was able to gather his bearings, somewhat, and ran straight out the door which was still hanging wide open. "Of all times Genesis," Sephiroth muttered, storming over to the door, slamming it shut, not caring that the Zack was now locked out. He then turned to the male standing in the middle of the living room awkwardly. "What do you want?"

Shaking his head, Genesis simply looked between the cadet and the General. "I got bored," he replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as if to say 'I really don't care that I just stopped a would-be murder, now entertain me.' A low rumble formed in Spehiroth's throat as he stormed off to the kitchen to grab some paper towels, muttering something about the insolence of certain colleagues. He returned, still muttering obscenities about his so-called 'friend'.

Still standing in the living room, Genesis just looked at Cloud, his expression conveying the question of "What the Hell is his problem?" Cloud just shook his head, simply stating "Zack pissed on his priceless boots." Genesis pressed his lips into a tight line, trying—poorly—to contain his laughter. Within seconds though, the hysterics broke free from the dam, and Genesis was doubled over cackling. From under the table where Sephiroth was cleaning Zack's mess, he yelled, "At least he didn't defile them like he did your precious book!"

Instantly, Genesis shut up and glared daggers at the man crouched under the table. "Both of you stop," Cloud intervened before swords were drawn and the room became a wasteland. Both men huffed, but stayed surprisingly quiet. "So Genesis, what did you really come here for?"

"I told you," he began, almost whining, "I'm bored." Cloud's face settled into a blank, almost bored expression.

"What do you expect me to do about that?"

"I don't know; I figured you'd know something for me to do."

"How about you go read _Loveless_ for the billionth time," Cloud muttered as his gaze drifted to the form of Sephiroth bent beneath the table, trying his best to get the urine out of the carpet before it left a horrid stain. Genesis scoffed.

"I'll have you know, I've only read it a _million_ times, thank you very much." Genesis folded his arms across his chest, his leather coat creaking with the motion.

"That's a million times too many if you ask me," Sephiroth called from under the table, a slight smirk ghosting across his features.

"Well nobody asked you," Genesis huffed indignantly. "Nobody ever asks you." From under the table, a low growl could be heard. "In fact, nobody likes you opinion dear Sephy." That did it, Sephiroth snapped at the use of such a degrading nickname. He slid out from beneath the table, wielding a piss soaked paper towel, and lobbed it. Due to his perfect aim, said paper towel landed across the redhead's cheek. The sickening slap could be heard echoing throughout the completely silent room. Genesis let out a shriek that could combat that of a girl who'd just found a spider in her bed. Cloud let his head fall back to the table.

"Why do I associate with these fools?" he muttered into the surface of the table.

Zack sat outside Sephiroth's door, cocking his head as he heard screaming and profanities being shouted. He blinked slowly, wondering what could possibly be going on in there. Heavy footsteps approached behind him, and he looked over his shoulder, seeing Angeal standing there, curious as to why the dog was simply sitting in front of the door. "What are you doing out here? And why are you out here to begin with Zack?" Then he heard someone scream at the top of their lungs. "How do you like getting piss shoved in your face, huh?" Angeal heard Genesis bellow at someone, probably Sephiroth.

He looked down at the dog which simply wagged his tail at the man. "Did you do this?" he questioned, knowing the dog was a bit of a trouble maker when it came to being with anyone but himself. Zack just pulled his lips back in what could only be interpreted as a grin. Angeal sighed. He didn't know if he should just take the dog and leave, or if he should go in and try to break up whatever fight was going on in there. The first option was so much more appealing to the man seeing as how it didn't involve whatever urine was being flung around behind the heavy door in front of him.

Sighing, he shook his head slowly and opened the door. Sephiroth really should start locking his door. Angeal was met by the sight of Sephiroth sitting on top of Genesis, shoving yellow paper towels into the man's face. His eyes moved to Cloud who was simply sitting on the couch watching the debacle, obviously not wanting to get involved. He had his arms crossed with an un-amused expression, watching the two men in front of him acting like two year olds. Cloud hadn't realized Angeal had opened the dog until Zack plopped down on his lap, staring down at the wrestling men on the floor. Cloud absentmindedly scratched behind the dog's ears, waiting for the two to finish whatever they were doing.

The two on the floor had switched positions, so Genesis was currently sitting on Sephiroth's chest and shoving a dripping towel in his face. An earsplitting scream shattered the room as the towel slapped across the pale haired man's face. Angeal finally decided it was time to intervene. He stomped over to where they were grappling on the floor and grabbed hold of Genesis' coat and yanked upwards. The man was lifted off Sephiroth, but only momentarily. He slipped out of his coat and pounced on the man again. This time, Angeal grabbed hold of the red head's turtle neck and pulled upwards, actually lifting his feet off the ground. "Enough." He set Genesis down and offered a hand to Sephiroth who took it, standing and instantly heading off to the bathroom.

As Sephiroth passed by Genesis on his way out of the room, he shoved whatever towels were left in his hand down the front of the man's shirt and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Genesis stormed over to where Angeal stood, still holding his coat. He yanked it from the larger man's grasp and threw it on, walking out the door. All the while, he had been yanking the gift from Sephiroth out of his shirt.

When Angeal heard the door slam shut, he turned to Cloud, who was still sitting on the couch as though nothing ever happened. "Do I even want to know?" he questioned.

Cloud just shook his head."Zack peed on Sephiroth's boots and everything went downhill from there." Zack, still sitting in Cloud's lap just looked up at the blonde, licking the underside of his chin as if to say sorry. Cloud just smiled and looked down at the dog who took the opportunity to lick from Cloud's chin to his nose. "Gross Zack!" Zack just wagged his tail and stared at Cloud, his lips pulled back in that adorably puppy-smile of his.

A/N: Oh. My. God. I'm alive. Yeah, so I'm so sorry about such a late update . . How long has it been? Over a month? Well, I feel like a horrible author now, I deserve whatever rotten fruits get thrown my way. I've just been busy with work lately, and now I have someone dear to me in the hospital, so the next update may be slow like this one was. I'm apologizing in advance for that one, so prepare the rotten fruit. But anyway, I wanna give a big thanks to Lethe the Dragon, Amarissia, and Zexydemy for leaving love. Everyone who has fav'd/alerted this story has my undying gratitude also. Thanks guys. Also.. I have no idea what came over me as I wrote this bit, but hey, it's late and I'm tired, so that's my excuse for pure stupidity. I'm done rambling now, leave some love if you'd like; it'd make me amazingly happy. -Ales


	9. Chapter 9

"Why did Angeal have to get sent away again?" Cloud pouted, wishing death upon those who took away his one and only savior. Now that Angeal was gone again on another mission, there was nobody left to take care of Zack except for Cloud. He was currently lounging on Sephiroth's couch, trying not to move. The slightest movement could wake up Zack who was peacefully napping on the blonde Cadet's chest. "Maybe I could see if Reno could watch you for a while." His voice trailed off as he thought of the possible outcomes of that pairing. Coming to the conclusion that he didn't want his dearest friend dead, he accepted the fact that he was now stuck with him.

Cloud ran his fingers through the soft fur between the dog's ears, scratching gently, not wanting to wake him still. Zack unconsciously leaned into the touch, pressing his head against Cloud's hand. The Cadet smiled slightly. Even though he was a major pain in the ass, Zack had his moments. The two lay there for what seemed like hours while Sephiroth was in his office, actually getting work done for once. Slowly but surely, Cloud nodded off, petting the small puppy cuddling against him.

The door to the room suddenly flew open, slamming against the wall. The two on the couch wound up on the floor, scared out of their wits. Sephiroth stomped into the room, clearly pissed off about something. Zack, already getting the hint, bolted from the room, not wanting to be present when the Sephiroth-bomb detonated, destroying everything within a ten mile radius. Groaning, Cloud stood from the floor, shaking the last few tendrils of sleep from his fuzzy mind. "Seph, what's wrong now?"

Sephiroth turned to the younger male and glared, not saying a single word before storming off down the hall. Cloud huffed back. He knew he wouldn't get a word out of Sephiroth for a while. When he gets in one of his moods, only one thing could change it, but sadly, they were out of sugar cookies. "Fine, be that way. But when you're done throwing a fit, come find me; we need to talk." Cloud spun on his heel, calling for Zack and grabbing the small harness and leash by the door. Zack ran down the hall at full speed, but dug his claws into the carpet, coming to a full stop as soon as he saw what Cloud was holding.

Zack's eyes zeroed in on the black harness dangling from the teen's fingertips. The pup took two tentative steps backwards before tearing off away from Cloud's grasping hands. Cloud, wanting to avoid an epic chase at all costs, dove for the fleeing animal. Luckily, he was able to grab hold of Zack's fluffy tail, bringing the dog to an instantaneous stop. Zack made whining noises as he dug his puny claws into the carpet, trying to get any sort of grip he could, but Cloud let go of his tail, quickly switching his grip to Zack's hind legs. He pulled on the pup's legs, slowly dragging him backwards. Zack still had his claws in the carpet, resisting 'til the very end. As Cloud pulled him backwards, Zack was leaving claw-marks in the carpet. Sephiroth would _love_ that.

Finally, Cloud pulled Zack back far enough and threw the harness over the dog's small head. Before he could escape, Cloud somehow maneuvered fast enough to buckle the ends together successfully. A triumphant grin spread across his face as he watched Zack throw his body against the floor, trying to squirm out of the restraints. After this small victory, Cloud felt as though he deserved a medal; a medal for managing to somehow keep the world's most obnoxious dog alive this long. Zack on the other hand was cursing the inventor of such an infernal device.

Cloud stood, grabbing the leash from the small table by the door where he'd set it earlier. "Zack," he said using his standard puppy-talk voice. "You wanna go outside?" Said pup stopped mid squirm, half of his chest on the floor with his butt in the air, and stared at the leash in Cloud's hand. It was almost as if he were thinking it over. Outside meant longer in the damn harness, but it also meant dragging Cloud around while he chased squirrels. Warily, he stood from his awkward position and trotted over to where Cloud stood, waiting patiently for his leash to be clipped to the harness. Cloud obliged and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, Zack took off, somehow dragging Cloud behind him. Maybe he was finally beginning to return back to his human state, regaining a bit of his SOLDIER strength. Or, maybe Cloud was just that weak and caught off guard . . .

From inside the apartment, Sephiroth shook his head. He wondered how a boy who got drug around by his 'pet' ever made it into the program.

When the pair finally made it back to Sephiroth's apartment, Cloud shoved the door open, practically dragging the dog in behind him. Sephiroth, who sat at the table, calmly took in their appearance. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked, staring at Cloud's hair, which stuck out at odder angles than usual. Cloud, refusing to answer, raked a hand through his hair and tried to wipe the mud and grit caked onto his face off. He simply threw the dog's leash to the ground and stormed off to the bathroom, muttering, "Never again." Sephiroth looked from the dog and back to Cloud's receding form.

After Cloud had gotten a shower, he was a bit more . . . sociable. He at least responded when Sephiroth would say something, though still obviously brooding over whatever transpired outside. "So," Sephiroth began, "What happened out there?" Cloud sighed, obviously uncomfortable with answering.

"Well, Zack saw a cat."

Sephiroth just stared at him. He could tell he was going to get annoyed with all the prompting that'll be required to get through this conversation. "Go on."

"And you know how he feels about cats . . ." Sephiroth nodded in agreement. Cloud sighed again. "Zack chased it—in front of a truck." Sephiroth's eyes widened as he stared down at the little dog, then back to Cloud. "So I pulled back on the leash, and he pulled in the opposite direction. The leash got yanked out of my hand, and of course, I chased after it—sort of . . . forgetting about the truck barreling down the street. Luckily, the guy swerved, and I dove to the side, landing in a mud puddle. After managing to get out of the muck, I still had to find Zack and drag his ass all the way back here."

Surprised, Sephiroth just put his hand on the younger's shoulder. "Well I'm glad you're okay. I can't say the same about the dog though," he said, shooting a pointed look at said dog.

"Sephiroth," Cloud reprimanded, punching him in the arm. "Do you know how long it's been though?" At the confused look he got in return, Cloud elaborated. "You know, since he changed?"

"Ah, no, not really. Like two weeks?"

Cloud just stared at the General. "Seph. It's been a month and eleven days. I don't think he's gonna change back. We're never gonna have the old Zack again are we?"

"We will—sadly. And think, on the Brightside, if we don't, his personality lives on. We just don't have to deal with that obnoxious mouth of his anymore." Sephiroth stared off into space, thinking of a future without Zack nagging him, or talking in general for that matter.

Cloud huffed indignantly. "I can't believe you. Well, whatever. If you won't try to help, I'll go see Hojo myself." Cloud stood from the couch, about to leave when Sephiroth spoke up.

"Isn't that a bit, I don't know, melodramatic? Hojo said to give it time. He'll turn back eventually," the General said, trying to reassure the Cadet. "And I just don't want to have to visit him. That man's creepy," he muttered.

"Yeah, but we need to get Zack fixed. I'm going with or without you. So, are you coming or not?"

Sephiroth mulled it over for a few seconds, already knowing his answer. "Fine. But we're going to need more cookies."

"Wait, more? I thought we were already out. Damnit Seph! I told you to quit hiding the cookies!" Sephiroth just smiled back at the teen, and turned, grabbing Zack off the floor before he could run. "You're insufferable," Cloud muttered, storming out of the room. Sephiroth trailed behind, trying to stifle laughter.

On the way down to the lab, Zack was extremely calm. It began to freak both men out. "Maybe he didn't hear where we're taking him to," Cloud suggested. Zack just stared at him, giving him a total 'Puh-lease. Do you really think I'm that stupid' look. "Well, I guess that answers that," he muttered under his breath, annoyed by the fact that he just got the _look_ from a dog. '_Where did I go wrong in my life?'_ he thought.

Finally, the doors to the elevator opened, and Zack stepped out before either of the men even thought about leaving the safety of their only escape. Both of their jaws dropped as they stared after him, wondering what snapped in that tiny brain of his. As Zack strutted forward, the doors began to close, and Sephiroth had to reopen them before the two of them got the courage to go into the lab. Zack sat in front of the door, waiting on the two behind him before turning and walking in. Cloud shoved Sephiroth in front of himself and hid behind the taller man as they made their way back to the examination room.

Zack's head jerked to the side as he caught the scent of another animal down in the labs—a _cat_. He turned his head the opposite direction, trying to resist the instinct that told him to run—run as fast as he could to rip the horrid creature to shreds. Against his own will, a growl built within his chest, and the fur on his back bristled. Sephiroth stared down wearily. "Zack, what's wrong?" He bent down, about to scoop the dog off the floor, but before he could, the pup was gone.

Cloud bolted from behind Sephiroth's back, trying to keep up with the dog. Somehow he managed to run impossibly fast for having such tiny legs. Zack was running straight for an examination table, and before it was too late, he slid underneath it, leaving Cloud barreling right for it. The teen swore under his breath and leapt. Somehow, he managed to hurdle over the table flawlessly. The same couldn't be said for his landing though. His feet were swept out from under him, and he went tumbling to the ground. Surprisingly though, within seconds he was on his feet again, chasing the ninja dog. The teen finally caught up with Zack, but that was only because the dog had found his destination and was preparing to launch an attack.

A cat was crated in the corner of the room, an assistant about to open the door and take it out, most likely for a number of unspeakable experiments. As soon as the woman grabbed hold of the cat, it sank its claws into her arm, making her cry out in pain and fling the animal across the room. It was Zack's time to pounce. He pounced, the cat in his sights. It was almost as though time slowed down. Suddenly Sephiroth was there and caught the pup mid-flight. Dangling him by the collar, Sephiroth turned to the assistant who was standing next to the pet carrier. "We're looking for Hojo. We have some, _business_, to take care of." He glared down at the dog currently flailing in his inescapable grasp. He was going to need dozens of sugar cookies by the end of this.

A/N: I feel as though this chapter was full of crap. I'm trying to write an upbeat story while trying to get a hold of what I guess could be considered depression. I'm also half-asleep and running off a Kickstart while writing this. I'm sorry for the wait and such, I don't really know what to say other than thanks to all the lovelies who follow and favorite this and to zexydemy and lvlss for leaving nice reviews. They really helped my get through this chapter. Well, that's about it, I'm off to bed now. Leave a bit of love for my story? Thanks again guys. -Ales


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